Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge (front right) and General Secretary Jairam Ramesh attending the Winter Session/
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: The Congress party on Friday described the just-concluded Winter Session of Parliament as one that started with the government "insulting" Rabindranath Tagore and ended with "insulting" Mahatma Gandhi while accusing the ruling BJP of running away from a debate on air pollution.
General Secretary (Communication) Jairam Ramesh, also party's Rajya Sabha Chief Whip, told a press conference that the government ignored demands for sending the crucial bills like the 'VB - G RAM G Bill' and the SHANTI Bill to Parliamentary committees.
Separately, he said on ‘X’, "All new A.C.R.O.N.Y.M MANTRALAYA - Administrative Commission for Renaming Old Schemes -- New Yet Meaningless. The PM is suffering from a case of acute acronym-itis."
Calling it a "pradushan kaleen session (air pollution session), he said the Congress was absolutely ready to participate in a debate on air pollution but the government "ran away" from it, as he rebutted Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju's claims that put the onus on the main opposition party for not taking up the matter.
He said the tweak in MGNREGA, which is replaced by VB - G RAM G Bill, would end legal rights to jobs, besides squeezing finances of the state. "MGNREGA was the employment of last resort. That has ended. Who will give jobs, where the jobs will be and what type of jobs are there -- all these will now be decided by the union government," he said.
The Congress leader also claimed that after MGNREGA, next in line to see an end would be RTI, followed by Forest Rights Act, Land Acquisition Act and National Food Security Act.
Ramesh said the 'Vande Mataram' debate was aimed at insulting Rabindranath Tagore as well as "defaming Nehru" and "twisting history" while the 'VB - G RAM G Bill' was meant to insult Mahatma Gandhi. "The Prime Minister's strategy is very clear that he wants to insult the 20th century greats who are Modern India's founders," he said.
He said Tagore was insulted as it was on Tagore's recommendation in 1937, the Congress Working Committee decided that the first two stanzas will be sung as the national song.
"The session started with insulting Tagore. Nehru was also insulted in between. It ended with insulting Mahatma Gandhi," he said referring to the Vande Mataram debate and the 'VB - G RAM G Bill'.
He said they were ready for a discussion on air pollution and cited responses by the government in Parliament at least thrice this year denying deaths due to pollution. "We were sure we could prove it with evidence in Parliament that deaths are happening due to pollution. The government did not want that to happen," he said.
He said it was intimated to floor leaders that 14 Bills will be taken up with two being a mere formality on Manipur and Supplementary demand for grants. "Out of the 12 bills, five were not introduced. I don't know why they give this information when they don't want to bring bills," Ramesh said.
"I had told Rajnath Singh at the all-party meeting that the meeting is a formality and usually at the end of session they come out with a Brahmos missile. He laughed. It happened this time as well and a bill was brought towards the end and was passed amid opposition uproar," Ramesh said.